MURRIETA: AMR removing ambulances from Murrieta fire stations

American Medical Response has decided to cancel its roughly
14-year lease that allows the company to station ambulances at two
Murrieta fire stations.

Company officials say the move was based on a routine
re-evaluation of response times. But at least one Murrieta leader
believes the decision was made to retaliate against the city, which
recently aired concerns about the county-awarded AMR contract.

AMR officials confirmed Thursday that the company is ending its
$1,000 per ambulance per month lease with the city to station
ambulances at the two fire stations. They said the decision to move
the ambulances was based on response times in the zone that
includes Murrieta.

"We probably (evaluate staging locations) probably twice every
six months," said Mark Karlin, manager of communications for AMR, a
private, for-profit company that provides ambulance service for the
overwhelming majority of Riverside County.

AMR government affairs director Peter Hubbard said it is
uncommon for AMR ambulances to be staged at fire stations; most
ambulances move continually, like police patrols, rather than
staying put until a call comes in.

"The reality is we're there to take care of people, and fire
stations, as I understand them, were originally designed and placed
to protect groups of structures," Hubbard said. "We track the
movement of people because they move and buildings don't."

The situation in Murrieta, however, was unique.

AMR had been leasing space at the two stations and been
receiving full use of the stations' kitchens, garages and gyms
since 1997, Murrieta city officials said. The ambulances are
scheduled to vacate the stations on Oct. 16, said Murrieta Fire
Chief Matt Shobert.

Fire Station 2 is at California Oaks Road and Hancock Avenue
near The Colony, one of Murrieta's larger senior communities.
Station 3 is near Firefighters Park on Whitewood Road and Murrieta
Hot Springs Road, which is one of the city's most heavily traveled
roads.

"Those are our two busiest fire stations of our five stations,"
Shobert said Thursday. "If you're worried about a rapid response
time average, you need to be in the heart of where everything is
taking place."

In about May or June, Shobert proposed doubling the amount AMR
would pay, which would have been the first time since the agreement
was put in place that the rent would have increased.

"It was a smoking deal and it hasn't gone up for 10 years,"
Shobert said. "They need to pay their fair share."

In a July 15 email sent to Shobert from AMR Operations Manager
James Price, Price said that renewing the lease would depend on
whether Murrieta Councilman Alan Long would retract comments he
made during a meeting of the Emergency Medical Care Committee
regarding his concern about response times in the city.

Long, a fire captain in Anaheim, said he was concerned about a
suggestion that AMR receive automatic renewals without opening the
contract up to a competitive bid.

"It's not that I don't want AMR ---- if AMR happens to be the
best company for the best price then it should (receive the
contract)," Long said in a telephone interview Thursday. "But it's
very important that they bid this contract because it's a
transparent process that ensures the taxpayers and government are
getting the best for the best prices. This contract has never gone
out to bid so how do we know if we're getting the best for the best
price?"

In his email to Shobert, Price said the lease would not be
negotiated until Long retracted his comments.

"Before we proceed with any discussions regarding our remaining
in your fire stations, the comments raised (b)y your council member
during EEMC will need to be addressed," Price wrote in the email
obtained by The Californian. "If the City has an official opinion
that there is 'grave' concern over AMR's performance within the
city, then we'll need to look at alternate locations in order to
eliminate some of the delay created by responding from your
stations. If that is not the official opinion of Murrieta then
there will need to be some type of retraction made before I can
move forward with a new contract."

A new lease agreement was never signed.

And Long's position may indeed wind up being the position of the
full Murrieta City Council.

On Tuesday, the council is scheduled to gather for a special
meeting during which it will consider suggesting to the Riverside
County Board of Supervisors that the county open the ambulance
service contract up to a competitive bid rather than extending the
county's current contract with AMR.

The special meeting was called late Thursday after city and
county leaders met regarding the AMR ambulance plan.

"We don't know right now whether there's a connection that we
raised concerns... and AMR pulling out of our stations, but it
certainly appears that they're trying a new system for some
reason," said Murrieta senior management analyst Brian Ambrose, who
will lead Tuesday's discussion. "We don't have anything against
AMR, but this relationship is not going so well."

Riverside County Emergency Medical Services Director Bruce
Barton said Thursday that a change of this nature should have
prompted conversations with his office, which is responsible for
overseeing ambulance operations throughout the county.

"I guess what I was most surprised about was that I had to hear
about it from the fire chief," Barton said. "That's not usually how
we do things. We get together; we talk about things and make sure
everyone knows before we move forward."

Murrieta leaders recently have become increasingly vocal about
their desire for the county to consider other ambulance providers
for the area, or to allow the city to provide its own ambulance
service. Murrieta officials have said they believe they can provide
quicker, more effective hospital transport than is offered now.

In September, city officials had what they hope was the first of
many meetings that, years from now, could lead to the city
providing its own ambulance service.

Ultimately it would be the Board of Supervisors that would give
the Murrieta Fire Department permission to transport people to to
the gates of an emergency room. Allowing the city to do so,
however, would require a change in policy because state law
dictates the county carries the responsibility of providing a
cohesive ambulance program for all cities that have relied on the
county for that service since 1980.

The supervisors are readying for a mid-October workshop, during
which they are scheduled to discuss a host of issues related to
emergency response.

Verne Lauritzen, chief of staff for Supervisor Jeff Stone, said
Thursday that the supervisor has met with Murrieta officials and
has taken their concerns to heart.

"He understands their concerns very clearly," Lauritzen said.
"They are making some suggestions on what we should consider, and
(Stone) is very sensitive to those issues."